Republican Congresswoman Charged With Violating Airport Gun Rules

A Republican congresswoman was charged with weapons charges Friday after allegedly carrying a firearm into Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz was en route from the Washington, D.C. area to Romania for a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, NBC News reports. She was issued a citation after the firearm was allegedly found in her luggage, but she was allowed to continue her flight, CNN reports. Under Virginia law, it is illegal to “possess or transport” any number of dangerous weapons “into any airport terminal of an air carrier.” The offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A spokesperson for Spartz said in a statement that the congresswoman, who is the first Ukrainian immigrant to serve in Congress, “accidentally carried an empty handgun in her suitcase without a magazine or bullets, unaware that it was in the pocket of her suitcase, while going through security at Dulles Airport.” A spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration said, “TSA officers at IAD detected a .380-caliber firearm during the passenger security screening. The firearm was unloaded and was in the individual’s carry-on bag.” Spartz is currently running for reelection in her solidly Republican district and won her primary in May. (More stories on Dulles.)